


Symptoms of the Disease

by coockie8



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Cruelty, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Drug Use, Politics, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, Texting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-04-12 05:54:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19125931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coockie8/pseuds/coockie8
Summary: Leo's out of rehab and has nowhere to go, unable to care for his son, Carl asks Markus to take Leo in, despite their tense past. Markus can't stand to disappoint Carl, so he begrudgingly agrees.





	1. And they were roommates

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have an action plan for this fic, so tags will be added as we go.

Markus grumbled softly as he drove. There was just something about old manual cars that he liked. He glanced over at Leo in the passenger's seat, with his feet up on the dashboard, looking down at his phone.

"Could you put your feet down?" He tried so hard to sound polite.

Leo glanced up from his phone and huffed softly before doing as he was asked. Markus tightened his grip on the steering wheel and gritted his teeth, there was no way this was going to work.

Leo had just gotten out of rehab, and Carl had asked Marlus if Leo could move in with him. Carl would've gladly taken Leo in, but he wasn't in the best of health. So, of course, Markus had agreed. A decision he was already regretting. There was a lot of tension between him and Leo.

"My apartment isn't very big, and there's only one bedroom, but I don't need to sleep, so you can take it. I'll just use the couch when I need to install updates," He explained.

Leo stayed glued to his phone. Markus gritted his teeth again and forced himself to stay quiet. He had a list of things to watch for from the doctor, withdrawal was hard on the body, and tended to leave the immune system a bit battered, so Leo was more prone to sickness than he he would be normally. He’d been especially warned to look after Leo’s track marks, as the damaged veins were highly susceptible to bacterial infections, with could develop into a blood infection if left untreated. There were two problems with this, the main one being that Leo didn’t like when people looked at his track marks, and according to the doctor, tended to panic if they were touched. The second problem was that Markus didn’t have an ‘addict care’ protocol installed, so he didn’t really know what to look for.

He'd caught a glimpse of Leo’s tracks while he’d been changing before they left, and the marks just looked like a bruised mess to him, he could tell what was infected and what wasn’t. He’d forgotten to ask about it.

He pursed his lips together as he pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building, he supposed he could just install a protocol, but he thought of altering his systems in any way for Leo just rubbed him the wrong way. He parked the car and got out, heading the main door and waiting. Leo seemed to hand back in the car for a moment before getting out, reaching into the back seat to grab his small bag of belongings. He hiked the bag onto a shoulder and approached Markus

“Are you the only person who lives in this building?” He asked.

It took everything in Markus to not roll his eyes

“No, all but three of the apartments are filled,” He said, forcing the drawl out of his tone. Leo chewed his lip and followed Markus into the building

“Is it only other Androids who live here?” He wondered, glancing around at the hallways.

Markus sighed softly, a small bit of irritation leaking into it

“No, it’s a healthy mix. I own the building, so it’s one of the few places that allow human/android dwelling,” He explained “We have rights for the most part now, but humans are still estranged to the idea of a human and an android being in a romantic relationship.”

Leo nodded in understanding

“I didn’t know you owned the building…” He mumbled.

Markus shrugged as they reached his apartment, and he unlocked the door

“I own more than a few buildings in this neighbourhood,” He muttered as he entered. He walked into the living room and gestured around the apartment

“This is it, like I said in the car, there’s only one bedroom, but you can have it, since you need sleep and I don’t,” He explained before motioning to an open doorway “That’s the kitchen-” He pointed down the hallway “-The bathrooms at the end of the hall, next to the bedroom. I don’t care if you smoke, but do it on the balcony. Any questions?” He finished.

Leo averted his gaze and shook his head. Markus nodded

“Alright. Oh! I do a lot of work at home, so just try to keep the noise down, and if you’re going to have people over, let me know. And obviously, any of your friends who have issues with androids aren’t welcome here,” He explained further before flopping down on the couch, and picking up some documents.

Leo pushed the toe of his shoe into the floor a bit

“I don’t have any friends anymore, so that won’t be a problem,” He assured softly.

Markus glanced up at him and pursed his lips together, but didn’t respond. It actually made sense, since most of Leo’s friends were probably also addicts, and hanging out with them wouldn’t be in his best interest so soon after getting clean. Leo swallowed thickly before heading down the hall to the bedroom. Markus watched him until he vanished from sight then sighed heavily. He leaned back against the couch and pulled the Jericho communication hub to see who was available. He let a little smile slip when he came across Simon’s model number and contacted him

_“Hey you,”_ He greeted, looking over the documents.

_“You scared the hell out of me.”_

Markus laughed out loud at that

_“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, I just needed someone to talk to,”_ He explained.

_“You sound stressed, what’s wrong?”_ Simon worried.

Markus tightened his grip on the tablet he was using to look over documents

_“Leo got out of rehab, and since Carl isn’t healthy enough to look after him, he moved in with me,”_ He huffed.

_“Leo? He’s Carl’s son right, the one made you go Deviant?”_ Simon asked.

Markus sighed softly and crinkled his nose

_“That’s him… I agreed to help Carl out, but now I’m kind of regretting it. Why couldn’t he just stay in a halfway house or something?”_ He grumbled.

Simon chuckled a bit

_“Because those places kind of suck, and he’s Carl’s son. Of course Carl isn’t going to make him stay in a halfway house. Anyway, what did he do, why are you regretting letting him stay with you?”_ He wondered _“Also, why are you contacting me? I live across the hall.”_

Markus smiled at that last remark before sighing

_“I’m contacting you because Leo is just down the hall in the bedroom and would be able to hear me if I was talking out loud, and since I’m kind of talking shit about him, I don’t want him to hear me. And he didn’t really do anything, there’s just a lot of awkward tension. And it’s not like he’s just living here, I have to care for him. The withdrawal shot his immune system, so I have to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t get sick,”_ Markus explained.

There was some silence for a moment before the front door opened and Simon walked in, sitting down on the couch next to Markus

“So that’s the issue,” He teased.

Markus shoved him playfully before shrugging

“I just…” He glanced down the hall and lowered his voice “I already have a lot on my plate, and I don’t really have the time for this.”

Simon tapped his fingers against his knee

“I could help you out if you need it?” He offered.

Markus shook his head

“No, I won’t put you through that. He’s human, and I know how uneasy they make you,” He sighed.

They both looked up when the bedroom door opened and Leo exited the room, stopping in his tracks when he saw Simon

“O-Oh… Hi?” He greeted awkwardly with a little wave.

Simon smiled and waved back

“Hello, I’m Simon,” He greeted.

Leo averted his gaze and picked at the skin of his knuckles

“Sorry, I… I didn’t know you had company,” He muttered to Markus before retreating back into the room.

Simon lowered his hand and blinked in confusion

“Kind of nervous, isn’t he?” He chuckled softly.

Markus shrugged

“He was never like that before,” He mumbled.

Simon cocked an eyebrow

“He was always high before,” He reminded, tone a little scolding “He’s clean now.”

Markus winced slightly

“Right… Yeah, sorry…” He huffed “I just… When I look at him, I see the dick wo used to harrass me constantly, who got me shot and thrown into a junkyard. It’s difficult for me to see anything but that.”

Simon nodded

“I get it, and I know it will be difficult, but he’s worked really hard to better himself, so he have to be open to his improvement, okay? I’m not saying you have to forgive him, but you have to understand that he isn’t who you knew anymore,” He hummed.

Markus leaned his head against Simon’s shoulder

“I know… I’m trying,” He sighed.

Simon nuzzled Markus before standing

“I’m meeting North and Josh, but I’ll stop by to check on you later, okay?” He cooed before waving and heading out.

Markus sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. He glanced up when the bedroom door creaked open and Leo shuffled out again, not even passing Markus a glance as he scuttled to the bathroom. Markus crinkled his nose, Leo had probably heard his and Simon’s conversation, and was feeling more than a little unwanted. And yet… Markus couldn’t bring himself to comfort him.


	2. Dreamer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus recalls the conversation he had with Leo's doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little update, this fic is likely to get heavy, since I will be exploring Leo's drug use, the complicated relationships he has with his parents, and why he got into drugs in the first place. So just... Be prepared for that. I'll put a warning at the start of any chapter that has anything triggering in it.

Markus sat on the couch, looking over the list of care requirements the Doctor had given him. He ran his thumb over the last one.

 

**_DO NOT TOUCH TRACK MARKS!!_ **

 

He sighed softly and pinched the bridge of his nose before glancing up when he heard Leo coughing in the room. Leo rarely left the bedroom, really only coming out to get food, and go to the bathroom. He stood and headed to the door, knocking gently

"Are you alright?" He called.

The coughing dulled to little choked noises, like Leo was actively trying to silence himself. Markus rolled his eyes and opened the door

"Are you getting sick?" He asked as he approached Leo.

Leo rubbed his chest and shook his head

"No, I'm fine," He assured breathlessly "Just a tickle…"

Markus crossed his arms and glanced around the room. It was in a sort of 'lived in' disarray, but kept mostly neat. For some reason, that just pissed Markus off more, the fact that Leo wasn’t giving him a reason to be pissed off. No, Leo was the ideal roommate. Markus hardly saw him, he cleaned up after himself, he was quiet, he didn’t ask for anything. And it grated on Markus’ nerves like hell. He darted his eyes around the room, looking for something,  _ anything _ , to get outwardly pissed about. He almost snarled when he found nothing so he just turned on his heel to leave

“Just… Keep it down,” He huffed before leaving the room.

He flopped back down on the couch and pulled the memory file of his conversation with Leo’s doctor at the rehabilitation facility. She was a sweet, young Muslim woman named Inaya Farooqi, and it was her life’s mission to purge the world of misery and suffering. An ambitious mission that Markus could really get behind.

 

_ Markus watched Inaya adjust her hijab for a moment before speaking up _

_ “Uh, hi,” He greeted awkwardly, Inaya turning to look at him when he spoke “My name is Markus, I’m here to pick up Leo C. Manfred; he’ll be staying with me.” _

_ Inaya’s face lit up like the sun, and she blushed _

_ “Oh, you’re the Android Revolution leader,” She giggled excitedly before clearing her throat and adjusting her lab coat “Sorry, yes. Leo.” _

_ Markus let a little smile slip, she was cute _

_ “Yeah, his father, Carl Manfred, asked me to look after him…” He stated. _

_ Inaya nodded and extended her hand, a friendly gesture that Markus was happy to accept _

_ “I see. Well, I’m Dr. Inaya Farooqi. Leo’s being treated by my team and I. He’s made tremendous progress, so we’re all just thrilled to see he has somewhere to go. We’d hate to see him leave to stay with someone counterproductive,” She rambled a bit as she lead Markus into her office. _

_ She sat at her desk and Markus sat across from her _

_ “So, tell me, Markus. What do you know about assisting an addict?” She asked. _

_ Markus pursed his lips together _

_ “Honestly? Not much. My original program was in caring for the elderly, so I don’t think that really translates well,” He half-joked. _

_ Inaya chuckled a bit, and Markus couldn’t tell if it was a pity laugh or not _

_ “There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to addict fostering. Really, the program exists to assist addicts who simply have nowhere to live after they get out of rehab. It’s not in the best interest to stay with their friends, since, more often than not, their friends are also addicts. Who may or may not be clean. You won’t have to do much, just give him a place to sleep, and keep an eye on his health,” She explained. _

_ Markus nodded before frowning _

_ “Wait, watch his health? Why do I have to watch his health?” He nearly huffed. _

_ Inaya hummed softly and pulled out a file _

_ “Withdrawal is incredibly hard on the human body. Leo’s one of the lucky ones who came out of it with a decent portion of his immune system intact, but that could change over the next few weeks. You just have to keep an eye on him and make sure he isn’t getting sick. I normally wouldn’t stress this so much, but Leo isn’t the type to ask for help, as I’m sure you’re aware,” She informed. _

_ Markus let out a soft little sigh of mild frustration _

_ “I didn’t think there’d be rules,” He mumbled. _

_ Inaya giggled _

_ “It’s not that bad. Leo’s very independent, you won’t even know he’s there. But the independence is a double edged sword, he won’t be a bother which is good for you, but if he gets sick or his track marks get infected, he won’t tell you, which is bad for  _ both  _ of you,” She assured with a small shrug. _

_ Markus pinched the bridge of his nose. Inaya smiled and grabbed her notepad, flipping it open and scribbling some things down _

_ “I’ll make you a list of things to look out for, and there is one favour I’d like you to at least try for me,” She hummed. _

_ Markus looked up at her, watching as she wrote _

_ “What?” He asked. _

_ “Addiction is a symptomatic disease, meaning that it’s usually caused by something underlying. Normally, that’s the part we’d treat; the ‘trauma’. When someone gets addicted to something, it’s because they think they have nothing left to lose. My job is to find out how, when, and why things got so hopeless for a patient. They go through extensive therapy, and we’re able to help them on a much deeper level. The problem is, Leo won’t talk to anyone he doesn’t trust. And Leo doesn’t trust anyone,” She mumbled. _

_ Markus frowned _

_ “What does that have to do with me?” He huffed. _

_ Inaya tore the list out of her notepad _

_ “I would like you to try and get him to open up a bit. He needs to talk to someone, keeping things bottled up isn’t healthy, and I’m afraid if he doesn’t open up to someone, he’ll continue to relapse, as he has in the past.” _

 

Markus opened his eyes when he heard the bedroom door open and Leo scuttered to the bathroom. He snarled softly under his breath; Inaya wanted him to  _ bond  _ with the guy who got him shot and thrown into a junkyard. She was a dreamer alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like it so far. The next chapter should be longer, and they should continue to get longer as the story goes on.


	3. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus tries to make an effort to help Leo feel more welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling that each chapter is going to have wildly different lengths.

He could try enough, though, for a fellow dreamer. So now, Markus found himself sitting across from Leo at the dining room table, as he awkwardly picked at his dinner. Markus learned very quickly that Leo didn’t know how to cook; his meals usually consisting of instant noodles, toast, cereal, some kind of junk food, or takeout. So Markus took some time to make him a well balanced meal, steering away from anything with almonds in it, since Leo was, apparently, deathly allergic. He’d actually found that little tidbit of information interesting. It wasn’t that an allergy to almonds was uncommon, Markus just found it noteworthy.

“Is there something wrong with it?” He finally spoke up when he got sick of Leo picking at the food without eating it.

Leo swallowed thickly and averted his gaze

“It’s just weird… You watching me eat…” He mumbled.

Markus cocked an eyebrow

“Do you want me to turn around?” He drawled.

Leo started picking at the skin on his knuckles

“No, it’s just weird… I feel like I’m being scrutinized… Maybe you could just, I don’t know, stare less intensely?” He chuckled uneasily “Or, maybe  _ you  _ could eat something?”

Markus narrowed his eyes

“I don’t eat,” He scoffed.

Leo flinched and lowered his gaze, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, mumbling a quiet apology. Markus sighed and stood up

“Just eat. You’re so skinny,” He grumbled as he made his way to the couch “And I don’t want to deal with you if you get sick.”

He didn’t bother to check Leo’s reaction to that. Markus looked over some documents, kind of zoning out a bit, before flinching when he heard Leo’s utensils clink against his plate and his chair scratch the floor as he stood from the table; fleeing to the bedroom. Markus turned to watch him, frowning before looking over to see Leo hadn’t touched his food. Markus scoffed

“ Ungrateful little-,” He grumbled under his breath.

An unquantifiably large part of him wanted to march to the room and give Leo a piece of his mind, but he forced himself not to. Inaya wanted them to ‘bond’, and Carl had asked him to take care of Leo; to keep him on the right track. So for now, he’d just leave it be.

 

Markus waited two days before trying again, forcing a more friendly approach, even asking Leo if there was anything in particular that he wanted to eat. To which Leo just mumbled a half-hearted ‘whatever’ with a little shrug. It took everything that Markus was not to ring Leo's little neck.

"Sorry, Leo, I don't know how to make 'whatever'," It caused him physical pain to remain civil.

But Markus' terrible pun earned him a tiny smirk from Leo who just shrugged again

"You don't have to cook for me… I'm fine," He assured.

Markus crossed his arms

"When was the last time you ate something that had any  _ real  _ nutritional value?" He drawled "Look, I agreed to look after you, so just let me, and tell me what you like to eat."

Leo picked at his knuckles a bit

"My mom had a list of things she'd have the nanny make. So I ate chicken basquaise a lot," He muttered.

Markus cocked an eyebrow, that hadn't really been an 'I like' statement, but he figured it was the best he'd get.

"I guess your mom liked French food?" He wondered.

Carl didn't really talk about Leo's mom, so Markus didn't really know anything about her. Leo smiled a bit and nodded

"She immigrated here from Paris in the early 2000's," He explained.

Markus nodded as he headed into the kitchen to start cooking. He'd pulled the recipe and saw it was going to take a while, so he wanted to start now.

"So, do you speak French?" He asked.

Leo followed after him and stood in the doorway of the kitchen

"Ouais. C'est ma langue maternelle. Je n'ai pas appris l'anglais avant d'être à l'école," Leo muttered.

Markus looked over his shoulder at Leo and let a little smile slip. Leo’s voice was wildly different when he spoke in French, almost like he was more comfortable; it was actually deeper. When he spoke English, it was almost like he was actively putting on an American accent. Which may or may not be the case, it really depended on how much contact he’d had with the outside world growing up. Markus shook those thoughts from his head and he turned completely to look at Leo

“Eh bien, n'hésitez pas à parler français à la maison, je peux le comprendre et le parler parfaitement. Avantages d'être un androïde,” He assured, unable to help the little smile that slipped when Leo’s face lit up like the fourth of July.

He chuckled softly and went back to cooking. A chair scraped softly against the ground, and Markus assumed Leo had taken a seat at the dining table. He glanced back at Leo, who was looking down at his phone now. Markus frowned a bit, he simply couldn’t wrap his mind around what Leo could possibly be doing on that thing, since he wasn’t supposed to be in contact with any of his old friends. He supposed Leo could just be playing a game, or browsing social media, but he was tapping as though he were typing; texting someone. He’d tap, tap, tap, then wait, then tap, tap, tap again.

“Who are you talking to?” He decided to just ask.

Leo looked up at Markus and blushed a bit

“I’m just… Chatting… With someone,” He mumbled.

Markus took note of the increase in Leo’s heart rate, which would normally imply that he was lying. That left Markus seething, he dropped everything and took Leo into his home, and the ungrateful little bastard had the  _ audacity _ to  _ lie  _ to him!?

“Oh yeah?” He tried so hard to play it cool “Who?”

Leo swallowed thickly and blushed deeper. That reaction wasn’t really helping Markus determine the situation, since a  _ lot  _ of people blushed when they lied.

“J-Just someone I met online…” He stammered.

Markus grit his teeth together but decided to just leave it be.   
  


It was nice of Leo to actually eat his food this time, although Markus wasn’t sure he tasted it with how quickly he wolfed it down then retreated to the bedroom, not even bothering with the dishes, which pissed Markus off to no end. But he didn’t say anything, he just went right along and cleaned up, then sat on the couch seething in silence for about an hour until Leo creeped out of the room again, looking painfully guilty. He shifted from foot to foot and kept his gaze down

“Hey,” He greeted awkwardly.

Markus looked up from his tablet

“What?” He snapped.

Leo flinched and chewed his lower lip

“It’s nothing you need to be concerned about,” He mumbled “It’s just… An ex-boyfriend.”

Markus cocked an eyebrow

“An addict?” He asked.

Leo chewed the inside of his cheek now

“I haven’t met with him, and he said he’s clean, so we’re  _ just  _ talking, texting. We’re just texting,” He assured.

Markus pursed his lips together

“You think that’s a good idea?” He grumbled “How can you be sure he’s clean, or that he’ll  _ stay  _ clean?”

Leo averted his gaze

“I can’t be sure, but we’re only texting. I promise,” He muttered “I know you have no reason to trust me,  _ I  _ have no reason to trust me, but that’s why I’m telling you. When you asked me about earlier, you caught me off guard and I panicked a bit, I didn’t mean to lie to you. I’m sorry…”

Markus blinked in confusion, completely taken aback; that had  _ not  _ been what he was expecting. He expected Leo to freak out at him for butting into his life, but he’d… Apologized for lying. Markus lowered his gaze, before huffing and stomping out that little glimmer of guilt before it had a chance to fester.

“Just don’t lie to me again, it’s rude,” He grumbled, turning his attention back to his tablet.

It was quiet for a moment, before Markus looked up again when he didn’t hear Leo leave. Leo was still shifting from foot to foot, gaze downcast, but darting up occasionally. Markus focused his gaze on Leo’s eyes and analyzed their trajectory, quickly noticing that Leo kept looking up at the TV. His intent was very clear, but Markus couldn’t figure out why he didn’t just sit down and turn the TV on if he wanted to watch something so badly. Leo glanced at Markus and his breath hitched before he quickly scurried back to the bedroom, and that’s when it hit Markus. The reason Leo didn’t just sit and watch was because he didn’t think he was welcome to. Markus had given the impression that Leo wasn’t welcome to linger in the same room as Markus, and this time, Markus wasn’t able to stomp down the glimmer of guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feeling like a dick now, aren't you Markus?


	4. Justify

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus has trouble justifying the anger he feels towards Leo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features Markus starting to realize he's being a giant dick!

Markus felt such genuine, suffocating anxiety when it finally came that he had to leave Leo alone in the apartment. Which was the day after the ‘texting his addict ex’ situation. He flinched a bit when their hands touched as Leo took the little piece of paper Markus offered him

“That’s my contact code, it’ll act just like a phone number, in case you need to contact me. You  _ can  _ text me, but it’s more than a little annoying, because the notification will appear in my HUD, so don’t try to have a text conversation with me or something, alright?” He grumbled before rolling his shoulders in discomfort.

Leo nodded as he read the number

"Oh, it's your model number…" He commented.

Markus blinked in confusion

"You remember my model number?" He gaped.

Leo looked up at him and shrugged

"I'm good with numbers. If I ever got less than a B+ in math, my mom would've killed me," He muttered.

Markus cleared his throat and nodded

"Right well… Call me if you need anything," He breathed before leaving.

Simon was waiting for him in the hall when he got there.

Since the demonstration, the Cyberlife tower had been repurposed, and become the new Jericho, out of which they based the professional and political operations. The floor used for assembly now acted as an Android medical facility. Markus wouldn't be out of the house long, it was just a meeting he had to attend.   
  


The meeting dragged far longer than anticipated, and Markus found himself feeling genuinely sluggish. He'd do anything to help the mind-numbing boredom. He flinched when a notification blipped into his HUD and he couldn't stop himself from snarling

**_Leo  
_ ** _ Est-ce que tout va bien?  Vous êtes parti depuis un moment. _

Markus clenched a fist, nearly seething with anger. This human couldn't follow the most basic instructions. 

_ I told you not to fucking text me! Why don't you fucking listen!? _

He'd been drowning in bleariness so long he couldn't contain his little outburst. He waited a bit for a reply that didn't come.

Markus huffed before looking up when the diplomat announced that they'd discussed enough for one day, and was looking forward to seeing Markus again. He politely wished them farewell before heading back to the apartment, not that it was much of a reprieve.    
  


Markus gently closed the front door behind himself and flopped down on the couch. It took him a moment to realize that the apartment was spotless and he frowned in confusion, before a tiny origami crane on the coffee table caught his eye. He picked it up and looked it over before grabbing the little note that was underneath it. 

_ Désolé _

Markus pursed his lips together, an astronomical amount of guilt welling up in his chest. Leo had just been concerned, and had probably texted him so the call didn't disturb him. Markus sighed heavily and stood, heading towards the bedroom. He knocked gently, and waited a moment. When he got no response, he let himself in. Leo was lying on the bed, curled in a ball with his back facing the door.

"Leo," Markus started, approaching the bed "Are you awake?"

A quick scan of Leo's vitals told Markus that he was awake, but he figured he'd ask. When Leo didn't respond, Markus sat on the edge of the bed, noting how Leo tensed.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, okay? I was just really stressed out," He sighed, apology just  _ barely _ genuine.

Leo remained unresponsive, and Markus let out a frustrated sigh

"What do you want me to say?" He tried so hard to keep the bite out of his tone.

Leo finally turned and sat up, hugging his knees to his chest

"I didn't mean to bother you… I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. You said it was just a meeting, and you wouldn't be more than an hour, but then you were gone for three, and I got worried…" He explained softly.

Markus clenched his jaw and swallowed thickly around the mass of guilt in his throat.

"But of course I knew there was the possibility the meeting was just running longer than you thought, so I didn't want to call and disturb you… I'm sorry," Leo muttered.

Markus averted his gaze

"I figured that's what it was," He admitted.

Leo finally looked up at Markus

"If I'm a burden to you, I can always just find somewhere else to live," He breathed "There are halfway houses, and shelters. I'll be fine…"

Markus flinched slightly, he wanted nothing more than to say yes, but he couldn't bring himself to let Carl down

"It's fine, like I said, I'm just a bit stressed," He assured, awkwardly patting Leo's knee before standing "I have a bit of work to do, so just keep it down."

With that he left the room, not really waiting for a response. This guilt was crushing him, he wanted so badly to hate Leo, but Leo being all soft-spoken and sweet was making it really difficult to justify his anger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you realize that what you hated about a person was drugs, and now you don't know how to hate them, now that they're not on drugs.


	5. Remakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus and Leo watch a bit of a movie together, and get into a small argument.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hollywood please, I am literally begging you. Make an original movie. I can't take another remake.

A small part of Markus actually wanted to devise a plan to get Leo in trouble, just so he had an actual reason to hate the guy, but it wouldn’t be the same, because Markus would be the reason for the behaviour. He knew how thrilled Carl was that Leo was doing well, so Markus couldn’t even bring himself to slack off and let Leo reconnect with his ex. He was sitting in the living room, staring blankly at the wall as he thought way too hard about stuff that didn’t matter.

“Markus?” Leo’s voice pulled him out of his trance and he crinkled his nose before looking up at the human, who was nervously eyeing the TV.

“What?” Markus huffed.

Leo picked at the skin on his knuckles and looked to the floor

“I was wondering if you’d be okay with me… Watching something… Out here?” He asked awkwardly.

Markus shrugged indifferently

“I don’t care, Leo,” He grumbled “And you don’t have to ask to use the TV, you live here too.”

Leo let a little smile slip and he sat down on the couch next to Markus

“TV on,” He mumbled.

The TV turned on to a movie, and Leo settled a bit to watch. Leo huffed a bit and crossed his arms

“Andy was constantly going on about how 2016 to 2019 was a terrible time for movies. All Hollywood was doing was remakes,” He commented with a little chuckle.

Markus looked up at the movie, it was a horror he assumed, Child’s Play, but the remake that came out in 2019. He honestly couldn’t tell if Leo was actually enjoying the movie or not

“Did you see it when it came out?” He asked.

Leo shook his head

“No, I was nine, and my mom didn’t let me see English movies,” He muttered.

Markus hummed slightly in understanding and nodded

“You like movies?” This was getting awkward, but he promised Inaya that he’d make an effort.

Leo shrugged

“I guess. When I was a kid I didn’t, because there were never really any French movies playing in Detroit…” He drawled “It was frustrating, because by the time they’d come out, and I could watch them online, or buy the movie, and watch it in French, it had been spoiled for me, so I just never bothered to watch it.”

Markus pursed his lips together, he could understand why that would be annoying. He glanced over at Leo, who had finally relaxed back on the couch, and stopped picking at his knuckles. Markus frowned, he never turned the air conditioning or heat on, because he simply didn’t need to, but it was the middle of summer, and he knew it was hot out, and in the room, so he couldn’t understand why Leo was wearing a fucking sweater.

“Aren’t you hot?” He finally asked.

Leo shrugged

“I’m a bit warm, but I’ll live,” He breathed.

“Why don’t you just put on a short sleeved shirt?” He grumbled.

Leo tensed a but and pulled his sleeves down over his knuckles

“Why does it matter, I’m not complaining am I!?” He snapped.

Markus flinched and his eyes widened before he snarled; there it was. He knew not  _ all  _ of Leo’s bad attitude was due to the drugs

“It matters because I’m supposed to be looking after your health, you ungrateful little shit!” He scolded.

Leo turned a glare on Markus and stood

“So look after my health, but don’t police what I wear, you self-righteous prick!”

And with that, Leo stormed off back to his room. Markus balled his hands into tight fists, nails biting into his skin a bit, but he forced himself not to go after Leo while he was still steamed.   
  


He waited about two hours before he went to check on Leo, knocking gently on the door and waiting for a response. He didn’t know why he knocked, or waited, he was going to enter the room whether or not Leo said it was okay. He supposed it was a polite tick he just couldn’t shake. He opened the door and entered the room when he got no response. Leo had the window wide open, and was sitting on the window sill with one leg bent, with his foot firmly on the edge, and his other dangling outside. Markus actually felt his heart jump and he quickly yanked Leo back into the apartment

“What the hell are you doing!?” He shrieked “Are you out of your mind!? You could fall!”

Leo wobbled a bit, clearly dazed from being swung around like a ragdoll, gripping Markus’ biceps to stable himself. He shook his head to rid himself of his daze and looked up at Markus, immediately blushing deeply when he processed what had happened, and how close they were standing

“I… I was just-”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses! Don’t  _ ever  _ do that again!” Markus scolded.

Leo flinched and averted his gaze

“O-Okay, I won’t… Sorry,” He mumbled.

Markus sighed softly and released Leo’s arms, where his grip had, no doubt, left bruises. Leo quickly jerked away when he realized that his own grip on Markus had lingered a bit. Markus put his hands on his hips

“I come in here to apologize for being a douche, and you’re dangling out of an eight story apartment?” He huffed.

Leo sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you worry, I was just… I do that all the time, I didn’t think it was a big deal…” He shrugged.

Markus’ brain short-circuited a bit at ‘worry’. He was  _ not  _ worried. Leo could launch himself out that window for all Markus cared, he just didn’t want to let Carl down… Right? He cleared his throat and blushed a bit

“Well it  _ is _ a big deal. What if you fell, Leo? We’re on the eighth floor! You would’ve died!” He grumbled.

Leo lowered his gaze and rubbed his forearm

“Honestly, I’d never really thought about that… I’ve never been particularly scared of heights so…” He said, voice soft.

Markus frowned before sighing heavily

“Just… Please don’t do that… You scared the hell out of me.” It was out of his mouth before he could stop it, but with the way Leo’s eyes lit up, he couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed.

Leo let a lop-sided little grin slip

“I won’t… Thanks for worrying about me,” He chuckled sheepishly.

  
The  _ way  _ Leo had said that made Markus’ heart ache. His tone had implied that no one had ever outwardly worried about Leo before. Markus gently patted Leo’s shoulder; as much as he hated it, he was starting to see a bit of what Inaya saw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're remaking fucking Chucky and I can't take it anymore.


	6. Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus learns some things about Leo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 95% set up for the next chapter.

But just because he was starting to see some of what Inaya saw, didn’t mean that everytime Markus looked at Leo, he didn’t see himself climbing up a mountain of bodies, didn’t feel the slip in the knees from legs that didn’t fit him properly, didn’t see the little static dots in his right field of vision, didn’t hear a high pitched tone in his left ear every now and then, didn’t feel the panic when the regulator that wasn’t his would slip for a moment and that counter would appear. Markus may have shoved Leo, and put him in the hospital, but none of it would have happened if Leo hadn’t broken into Carl’s house that night. Sometimes, when Markus tried to enter stasis, he could still feel that bullet piercing his skull.

Leo spent a little more time hanging around Markus now, even instigating conversation. Markus even found that he didn’t mind so much, he was getting to know Leo the Person, instead of always dealing with Leo the Drug Addict. He learned that Leo wasn’t much of a pet person, because his mom found animals dirty, so he wasn’t allowed to have pets, not even a goldfish. He learned that Leo hadn’t been to an amusement park until he was fifteen, because his mom found them stuffy and loud, and refused to pay to go somewhere she didn’t enjoy, but got to go when he was fifteen, because his step-dad took him. He learned that despite going to the amusement park, Leo had never been on a roller coaster.

Now, they were sitting on the couch, watching a movie on TV. It was a movie about a zoo, Markus found it interesting enough, he supposed

“Humans find such fascinating ways to waste their time,” He commented absentmindedly.

Leo laughed softly at that

“I’ve never been to a zoo,” He mused.

Markus glanced over at him, a thought forming in his mind

“Do you want to go to one?” He asked.

Leo looked over at Markus and frowned in thought

“What do you do?” He wondered.

Markus crinkled his nose a bit, how did one make a zoo sound fun to someone who wasn’t a child, and wasn’t exactly an animal person? He decided that there was no way to make walking around in the blazing summer heat, looking at animals that may or may not actually be out and visible, sound even remotely entertaining

“You could ride an Elephant?” That was the only redeeming part of the whole ordeal “Or a Camel if an Elephant is too much?”

Leo tilted his head a bit, that little lop-sided grin slipping

“I’m not a kid, you know,” He teased.

Markus just shrugged

“I don’t really know what you’re into, and nothing else about the zoo sounds fun when you’re just talking about it,” He huffed.

Leo leaned back against the couch, chuckling softly. He crossed his arms and winced a bit when he put pressure on the insides of his elbows, something that Markus took immediate note of

“Are you okay?” He worried.

Leo glanced over at Markus and shrugged

“Yeah, I’m fine… Just tired,” He lied, it was obviously a lie.

Markus pursed his lips together and turned his body so he was facing Leo

“Show me your arms,” He ordered.

He was deeply, deeply dreading this, since he hadn’t gotten around to installing an addict care protocol, so he still didn’t know how to tell ‘healthy’ track marks from infected track marks. Leo crossed his arms tighter and shifted away from Markus

“No,” He refused firmly.

Markus’ eyes widened and he blinked in surprise, he honestly hadn’t expected Leo to downright  _ refuse _ , and he didn’t really know where to go from here. Did he… Did he just grab Leo’s arms and make him? What did he do now? He could physically  _ feel  _ himself buffering. He took a moment to defer to his programming and calculated his likelyhood of success based on different attempts.

⤬ \- Subdue {Probability of success: 100% | Probability of favorable reaction: 0%}

◯ \- Reason {Probability of success: 60% | Probability of favorable reaction: 70%}

◻ \- Force {Probability of success: 90% | Probability of favorable reaction: 0%}

△ - Plead {Probability of success: 72.3% | Probability of favorable reaction: 80%}

**Calculating.**

**Calculating..**

**Calculating…**

⤬ \- Subdue {Probability of success: 100% | Probability of favorable reaction: 0%}

◯ \- Reason {Probability of success: 60% | Probability of favorable reaction: 70%}

◻ \- Force {Probability of success: 90% | Probability of favorable reaction: 0%}

**△ - Plead {Probability of success: 72.3% | Probability of favorable reaction: 80%}**

“Leo, please, I just want to make sure you don’t have an infection,” He soothed “I won’t touch, and I won’t look long, I promise.”

Leo loosened his grip a bit and averted his gaze before sighing in defeat and unfolding his arms, holding them out for Markus.

“Thank you,” Markus hummed and he gently took Leo’s wrists and rolled his sleeves up.

Just as he expected, he couldn’t tell. They just looked like a mess to him, but the area around the puncture scars specifically was a little irritated

“Have you been scratching at them?” He wondered.

Leo blushed and lowered his gaze

“They itch so fucking badly when I get cravings…” He explained quietly, voice absoluetly  _ dripping  _ with shame.

Markus let a sympathetic little smile slip

“There’s some disinfectant in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, you so put some on them and wrap them to keep them clean, since they do look a bit irritated,” He informed while rolling Leo’s sleeve back down.

Leo immediately yanked his arms back and crossed them

“I will,” He assured, turning his attention back to the movie.

He was being a little standoffish, but Markus understood why, so he let it be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The zoo being mentioned in this is important, so keep that in mind.


	7. Butterflies and Thirium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus decides to start small, and an incident in a butterfly sanctuary leads him to realising his feelings for Leo are a little more complicated than he first thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Climate change doesn't want me to post this. It's too hot outside, and we don't have AC XP

After deciding to start small, Markus brought Leo to a butterfly sanctuary. He didn’t really know if Leo liked butterflies, but Markus did, and he had to start somewhere. They walked the garden in a bit of a tense silence, this was the first time they’d ever done anything together. 

“Let me know if you get bored, and we can go,” Markus informed “I just figured you could use some time out of the apartment.”

Leo shrugged and nodded

“I’m good. It’s pretty here,” He mumbled.

Markus cleared his throat and glanced over at Leo before quickly tearing his gaze away. Leo glanced at Markus and frowned

“Everything okay?” He asked.

Markus nodded

“Everything’s fine,” He assured, voice strained.

Leo averted his gaze and bit his lip

“You know… You don’t  _ have  _ to hang out with me. I know you hate me, and the last thing I want is to bother you,” He mumbled.

Markus pursed his lips together

“I’m just not used to you, that’s all,” He soothed before halting and blushing a bit when he looked over and saw a butterfly had made its home in Leo’s hair.

Leo blinked in confusion before freezing up like a deer in headlights

“What? What is it?” He worried.

Markus let a fond little smile slip and he chuckled softly

“It’s just a butterfly. It landed in your hair,” He explained.

Leo relaxed a bit and took out his phone, turning on the front facing camera and crinkling his nose a bit before looking at the butterfly and grinning

“Oh, cute,” He hummed.

Markus nodded and watched as Leo put his phone away

“Yeah, cute…”

 

They didn’t hang around much longer after that, Leo complained a bit that he was getting hot, so they returned home. Markus couldn’t keep his eyes off Leo, and a very large part of him hated himself for it. Not only was Leo the guy who nearly got Markus killed, however indirect and unintentional, but they called the same guy ‘dad’, so they were sort of like brothers. Right? Markus didn’t know, he knew  _ he  _ certainly didn’t see Leo as anything even remotely resembling family.

“What am I to you?” He decided to ask while they were sitting on the couch, watching the news.

Leo looked up from his phone in confusion

“What do you mean?” He wondered.

Markus huffed softly under his breath

“I mean… How would you define our relationship?” He elaborated.

Leo put his phone down and shrugged

“I didn’t know we had one. I think I’d like us to be friends, but my hopes aren’t exactly high for that,” He muttered.

Markus dropped his gaze in thought

“No, I mean… Do you think we’re brothers?” He decided to just come out and say it.

Leo crinkled his nose and shook his head

“Not to me…” He admitted truthfully.

Markus leaned back in his seat and let himself relax a bit, that made him thinking Leo was cute a little less weird.

“Why? Do  _ you  _ think we’re brothers?” Leo asked, not letting Markus off the hook.

Markus blushed a bit and averted his gaze

“No. I just… Had a thought, and I wanted to know where we stand,” He huffed.

Leo tilted his head a bit and Markus felt his heart tug. Ra9, he needed to get laid. This was ridiculous.

_ “What’s going on? Why are you sending me an emergency signal?”  _ Simon’s voice rang through Markus’ head and visibly jumped before quickly relaxing

“I’m doing what, now?” He huffed, out loud, because screw being discreet.

Leo tilted his head before making a little ‘o’ motion of realization.

_ “You’re sending me an emergency signal. Why? Are you okay?”  _ Simon replies.

Markus ran a quick diagnostic and found that when his heart had skipped a beat, his regulator had glitched a bit. He leaned back and undid his shirt, to which Leo blushed a vibrant red and averted his gaze. Markus smack his regulator a bit

“Better?” He asked.

_ “No, I’m still getting that signal.”  _

Markus grumbled and twisted his regulator, disconnecting it and letting the port air for a moment, watching the countdown for about fifteen seconds before putting his regulator back in

“Better?”

_ “Yup. I’m not getting the signal anymore. What happened? Did your thirium regulator come loose again?” _

Markus nodded before wincing when he realized Simon couldn’t see him

“Yeah, it doesn’t fit quite right and slips if my heartbeat goes at all wonky,” He explained “But I’m fine. The countdown didn’t start, so it was still functioning, but not correctly. I leaked a bit.”

He ran his fingers through the thirium that had dripped down his chest before standing and heading to the kitchen

“Thanks for letting me know, Si. I have to replenish my thirium levels now.”

_ “No problem. Glad you’re okay.” _

And with that, Simon went offline. Markus grabbed a pouch of blue blood out of the fridge and stabbed a straw into it, like a biohazardous Capri Sun, before heading back to the couch. Leo followed Markus with his eyes until he sat down

“Are you okay?” He worried, eyes following the streak of thirium down Markus’ abdomen, eyes lingering on the faint trail of hair that disappeared into his jeans.

Markus shrugged

“Yeah, I’m fine. I had to piece myself back together in that junkyard, so the spares I found are either out of date or not functioning correctly,” He explained, trying desperately to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

Leo flinched and quickly averted his gaze

“Sorry…” He mumbled.

Markus winced a bit, apparently he’d failed at keeping the bitterness out

“It’s fine,” He assured half-heartedly.

Leo glanced over at Markus again, blush returning. Markus frowned, was he doing something weird or embarrassing? Why did Leo keep blushing every time he looked at him? He looked down at himself and saw he’d left his shirt open. Oh. He carefully buttoned it back up and relaxed. Leo’s blush deepened and he almost pouted a bit

“Sorry… I’ve just… Never really seen you without a shirt on before. I didn’t know you were so… Sculpted,” He explained bashfully.

Markus couldn’t help his little smirk.

“And I’ve never seen you without a shirt on. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wearing less than two layers. I’m a little worried you’ll get heat exhaustion,” He hummed “I don’t need air conditioning, because I can just alter my core temperature, but you’re human. Do you want me to get air conditioning?”

Leo pursed his lips together and shrugged

“I don’t want you to go out of your way for me…” He mumbled.

Markus shrugged indifferently

“It’s not that big a deal, it’s just a phone call,” He assured.

Leo shifted closer to Markus a bit

“If… If you don’t mind,” He stammered.

Markus gently put a hand on Leo’s knee and gave it a light squeeze

“I don’t,” He soothed, and this time, it wasn’t awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're progressing slowly.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if there's anything specific you wanna read, and I'll do my best to work it in.
> 
> Please comment. Comments make me a happy writer and happy writers write more.


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